Improvement in boiler-feeders



. ZSheetsSheet 1..

A. I. ST BRN BERG.

BOILER-FEEDERS. N 0'. 190 3 8 3 Paten-ted May 1, 1.87 71 nunummu-l I J.. @ff

ATTORNEYS s L- w z I NE SES MWM d vcfw# 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. I. ST ER NBE R G.

:BOILER FEEDERS N.19o,sas.

Patented Mayl, 1877.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS WASH N. 'Pl-Trans. PHD

UNITED STATES Pa'rE A. IEVING'STEENBEEG, 0E GAETHAGE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOILER-FEEDERS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 190,383, dated May 1, 17877; application filed November 20, 1876.

To all whom it 'may concern: f

f Be it known that I, A, IRVING STERNBERG of Carthage, in the county of Jefferson, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler- Feeder and Force-Pump; and do hereby de clare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists inthe construction and arrangement of a machine that will draw water `from a well, cistern, or other source of supply, and deliver the same into a steam-boiler as fast and whenever it is required to keep up the requisite amount of water in the boiler automatically, at any and all times without the presence or assistance of an engineer or other employee, and which machine can also be used as a steam forcepump, delivering where and with whatever force of discharge required, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, `I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring. to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of my entire machine.

The entire machine is constructed of castiron, or other suitable material, except the conical water-chambers, which should be made of sheet-steel, or such material as will give the greatest strength with the least weight.

A represents the bottom or bed-plate, upon which are bolted two standards, B B', formed at their upper ends with the hollow heads C and C', respectively. The head C is formed with an interior rib or partition, a, extending vertically down from the top below the center of the head, and below this partition' in the inner end of the head is the water-delivery port b, through which the water is de'- livered into the head, and from the head it passes through an outlet-pipe, D. In the upper part of the partition a is a steam-passage, d, through which the steam passes from the steam-inlet pipe E.

The head C' has in its inner end two suction-ports, e e, and its outer end communicates by a pipe, f, with the bottom of a chamber, G, which is supported upon a pedestal, H.

Between the heads G C is placed the oscillating barrel or cylinder I, provided at one end with the ports h h, to work in connection with the water-delivery port b, and at the other end with ports it', to correspond with the suction-ports e e.

This barrel or cylinder is formed w-ith two tubular danged side projections, J J, to which are secured the two conical vessels L L, and in the center of the cylinder is a partition, It, dividing the saine into two parts, forming with the vessels L L two separate and independent chambers, each provided with the ports h and fi, as shown, which open and close alternately,l by the oscillation or movement of the cylinder and vessels, the vdischarge-port b, and suction-ports c e.

Each vessel L has a steam-pipe, K, running to a steam-passagam, in the top of the cylinder I, on the opposite side of the partition, and these passages or ports m m alternately get opposite the steam-port b in the head U.

The cylinder I, with the water-vessels L L and steam-pipes K K, swing or oscillate upon a steel center or axle, n, and the space or distance of oscillation, to have the ports properly open, close, and cover, is regulated by raising or lowering the adjustable standards lM M, by means of the screw-nuts N N, at

their attachment to the bed-plate A. These standards are provided with cushions p, of rubber or other suitable material, at their upper ends, to receive the blow of the fall ofthe vessels L, when filled with water.

The standards M also have slotted holes, through which pass rods O O, connecting at their inner ends with an arm, P, projecting from the oscillating cylinder I. At the outer end of each rod O is a spiral spring, s, and

nut t. The object of these springs is to assist in overcoming the friction of the valves or port faces in the small-sized machines, where the quantity of water in the vessel L is not of sufficient weight to do so. The nuts t are used to'adjust the force of the springs, so as to allow the vessels L to move when the discharging-vesselis empty and the one nearly upright is full.

In the larger-sized machine, where the vessels L are of greater capacity, it is necessary. to reverse the action of the springs and ad' just them, so as to prevent the falling of the vessel L just tllled before the opposite one is'` empty. I

The port or valve faces of the three several parts, G C', and I are held together, so as to maintain a steam-tight joint by means ot' the steel rod or axle n, and nuts on the end thereof.

The suction-chamber G has attached to it a suction-pipe, R, which is'to lead'into the well,-

' pipe when first setting upand starting a machine, and at such other times yasvmay be nec; i

essary to alter or change the suction-pipe or source of supply. y' p f Suitable cocks and valves should be arranged in the steam-pipe, discharge-pipeand suction-pipe.

The operation of my machine'is subsianpipe E from the boiler, and from thence it passes through the ports b and m up through the pipe K into 'the vessel L on the'left-for instance, when it fills this vessel driving out the air. Vhen the air is all out it is tipped so as to close its steam and discharge ports and open its suction-port, when the steam enters the chamber G, which has been previously filled with water, and the steamis condensed therein, creating a vacuum in the left vessel L, which vacuum is at once filled with Water. This vessel L being now full of'waterwill, by force of gravity, drop down to its former position, resting upon the rubber cushion p on the standard ML In so doing', it opens the' same ports again, allowing the steam from the boiler into the vessel L above the'water,

so that the pressure in said vessel and in the boiler is equalized, and the Water, by its own gravity, iiows through thepipe into the boiler. By the descent of thisvessel filled with water the other vessel is raised to receive its supply, and while one vessel is dischargl ing the other is lling, and so on alternately, automatically without the assistance of any other machinery vor appliances, or the aid of any attendant, until the boiler is full to the desired line. The steam-supply pipe E is so attached to the boiler at the water-mark that when the Water rises high enough to cover the end of said pipe and cut oft' the supply Vof steam, the machine will stop the delivery'of Water into the boiler; for, as long as there is no steam passing into the vessel L, it cannot discharge its water, and, thereforefwill not rod; tially as follows: Steam is let on through the relieve itself of its weight, so that the opposite vessel can descend with a fresh supply; but, as soon as the steam-supply pipe becomes uncovered in the boiler by the use of the water so as to let any steam pass out to the machine, a corresponding amount of water will be supplied to the boiler.

The central bolt or axle n is extended for; ward, projectinga suitable distance in front of the'machine, asshown in Fig. 2. Above this is an arm, A', projecting from the head G of the machine, and resting on the bolt n, near the outer "end, toform a support, and prevent the springing ot' the bolt upward by the action of the levers a a below. This arm A is to be cast solid on, and form part of', the head. The central boltl n is alsoprovided with a nut, -b","an`d check-nut d', toregulate the required firmness necessary toy make the 'valve-faces gsteamtight, and also a washer, e1, of suitable shape, having recesses to receive the ends of,`

the levers pressi-ngagainstit. The front of the head also has, similar recesses, at e2, to re-v ceive the ends of the opposite levers.

The discharge-pipe D rhas a'collar,f, firmly attached', near its vlower end', through which passes a rod, hf, with a' nut, fi', above and be- `low thecollar, to accurately adjust it; and on t-he lupper end of said rod is attach'eda set of jointed levers, d', which are operated by said "This latter device'obviates the following difficulty: In operating the feeder, when circumstances require it to remain idle' for some time-say, twelve to twenty-four hours-the valve or port faces might `become set, and require more power to start them than the gravy ity of the water in the full vessel L over thev onejus'tdischarged, if thesprings were so adjusted before it stopped as to have the discharging-vessel completely discharge' before allowing the full one'to descend; and hence the lmachine might not' operate satisfactorily 4 unless itwere kept constantly at work.

With this part of my invention the valveor c port faces are held sufficiently close to keep a tight joint by means of the nuts b d on the rod n, the pressure being transmitted through the levers a a! to--the'` head, and the levers prevented from doubling together by means of the nuts 'i' on the rod'k,- throughl the collar f on the ldischarge-pipefD. Now, when the feederzis atnrest or idle it will be full ot' water; and when the water" again gets ybelow the steamsupply'pipeV in the boiler, andthe feeder `begins to feed, it will continue until all the Water is exhausted from the thenvdischarging vessel; and if the other does not then descend with a new supply ofy Waterlandl begin its discharge, the'watery remaining in the discharge-pipe D will continue to flow into the boiler, followed by the steam, and the steam will giveV additional heat to the dischargepipe, which is made of brass, causing it to lengthen itself suiciently to draw the rod h downward, and thus relaxing the pressure on the levers, and allowing the valve-faces to v to be raised up by the descent of the full one.

On the descent of the full one, water immediately ilows into the discharge-pipe, and again cools it to its original temperature, and thus contracting it, forcing the rod upward and extending the levers, making the steam-joints or valve-faces as close and tight as they were before, and the feeder will then continue to operate Without the relaxing of the levers until the boiler is full and necessitates its lying idle for some time. y

In using my invention as a force-pump or as an ordinary supply-pump, the operation is the same as above, except that its position need not have any reference to the boiler, and the steam-supply may be from Whatever is most convenient. Used as supply-pump, employing suction only, and not forcing, it may be operatedwith the exhaust steam from the engine, if desired.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The barrel or cylinder I, provided with central partitions k, flanged projections J J, water-vessels L L, steam-pipes K K, and ports h h, t' t', and m m, in combination with the heads C G' and their respective ports, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination of the tank G with pipes Rf, the head C with ports ee, rocking cylinder I with water-vessels, steam pipes and ports, as described, and the head C With ports b d, steam-pipe E, and discharge-pipe D, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. The combination of the oscillating cylinder I with its Water-vessels, the arm P, rods O O, adjustable cushioned standards M M, and springs s s, and nuts t t, as and for the purposes herein set forth.

4. The combination, with the heads O C and oscillating cylinder I, of the'central rod n, with nuts b d and Washer e1, the levers a', rod h', with nuts z" i', and the stationary co1- lar f on the expansible discharge-pipe D, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of November, 1876.

A. IRVING STERNBERG.

Witnesses GEO. GILBERT, JNO. E. STRIGKLAND. 

